Risk assessment

A key requirement under COSHH is the duty to carry out risk assessments. Regulation 6 says employers should not carry out work that is liable to expose employees to any substances hazardous to health unless they have made a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks. All employers must carry out a risk assessment, record any significant findings and review the assessment regularly.

The risk assessment must consider a specific list of items, including the hazardous properties of the substance, information provided in safety data sheets (see page 92) and any WEL (see below).